Once you understand what is happening to your body you will be better equipped to support it and achieve alignment.

When it comes to the perimenopause and menopause, there is a whole host of advice, information and stories about what you should be doing, what you should be taking, what works and what doesn’t but the problem here is that everyone will experience it differently and your transition will be unique to you.

Positive Soul offers you simple, sustainable coaching through the 4 pillars of symptom control, daily habits that help your body regulate energy, sleep, mood, metabolism and sleep.

The 4 S’s

  • Support - Each symptom alone is manageable but when symptoms combine, the result can make it hard to function as normal. Working with your body and supporting it with what it needs can be achieved through simple lifestyle factors.

    1) Nutrition is probably one of the most important influences on how your symptoms develop as it hugely impacts your hormone levels.

    2) Sleep is profoundly important. Developing a circadian rhythm, effectively going to bed and waking up around the same time is a game changer when it comes to teaching your body when it’s time to rest and when its time to be active.

    3) Exercise is essential for keeping symptoms under control. Pick different types of exercise for different symptoms and mood. For eg if you suffer from extreme pmt hi intensity workouts may help, but hot flushes need a more calming and gentle workout. Strength training is vital to protect your bone health.

    4) Mindfulness and finding support through friends, community or health professionals will help you feel less isolated through the transition. Supporting the vagus nerve through humming, singing and gentle massage will also help regulate the nervous system.

  • Strength - Resistance training is not only good for your body and mind but essential to maintain bone health and protect against declining muscle mass. Strength exercises can really help with hormonal shifts in estrogen, progesterone, cortisol and insulin, while boosting energy, regulating weight and steadying your mood. Doing weights 3-4 times a week, choosing a weight where the last couple of reps feel challenging is a good marker. If you don’t have weights use your bodyweight in core movements including squats, lunges, push ups ad core stability exercises. Strength training during the transition is not only about improving your core strength and fitness, it protects your muscles, bones and helps regulate your metabolism and ultimately acts as a preventative measure for long term health.

  • Stress Management - Perimenopause/menopause can heighten the feelings of being stressed. Hormonal shifts, declining estrogen and progesterone directly affect your nervous system which makes you more sensitive to stress. these shifts can lead to anxiety, poor sleep, brain fog, irritability and fatigue. Regulating your nervous system provides the foundations to managing stress. A few ways you can do this include:

    1) Breathwork.

    2) Rethink your exercise regime. It may not be necessary for a complete overhaul but think about the type of exercise you are doing.

    3) Treat sleep like the holy grail. Getting good sleep will affect almost all of the symptoms of the transition in some form.

    4) Stabilizing your blood sugar will help prevent stress spikes.

    5) Put in place boundaries that will protect your wellbeing, both physically and mentally. Saying ‘no’ more often without guilt will help you make sure you don’t overcommit and will reduce people pleasing tendencies.

    Managing stress is an important requirement for supporting your hormones, metabolism, mood and long term wellbeing. If you feel constant fatigue, you notice increased belly fat, you find yourself falling ill more often and you have low motivation, this could be your body asking for greater self care. Introducing simple habits into your day can make a big difference.

  • Sense of Purpose - During menopause aside from all the hormonal shifts that are going on there is often an element of psychological and emotional disruption. You may start questioning your role in life, be it in your career, at home or more generally in life. There is often a sense of ‘who am I?’ and ‘what is my purpose now?’ Motivation and mood may dip and leave you feeling quite reflective and aware of life passing you by. if you are feeling a bit lost there are a few little things you can do, to get back on track. Its a good time to really think about what you want out of life now, what you are ready to shed and what you would like to pursue. Think of it as quite an empowering time. A sense of really knowing what fulfills you and what depletes you.

    It’s a time for recalibrating your life. Loss of purpose is only temporary, its the time between what has gone before and what the future brings.

Back in sync wellness coaching offers:

  • 1:1 weekly sessions

  • Symptom tracker

  • Personalized strength and lifestyle plan

  • Voice note support between sessions

  • Resources - routines, checklists

Understand your transition and regain hormonal balance with the back to you program. Feel like you again with more energy and less overwhelm, implement routines that actually work around real life. It’s time to make sense of it all!